RAF Tornados quarter of a second from catastrophe

TWO RAF Tornados came a split second from disaster over the Borders in the second such near-miss in Scotland within four months, investigators reported yesterday.

One of the fighters crossed the path of the other at the same altitude and just 200ft - or a quarter of a second - ahead.

The aircraft, from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, had a combined speed of 1,060mph in the low-flying incident, which happened in darkness five miles south-east of Galashiels last September.

The UK Airprox Board, which investigates reported "near-misses", gave the incident the highest rated risk rating - A - which means an actual risk of collision existed.

The board said the incident had come about because neither of the pilots spotted the other, and one of them had flown into the area before his allotted time.

Local MSP Jeremy Purvis demanded "very sharp lessons" to prevent a repeat.

The board's decision comes less than a month after it gave a grade A listing to another incident involving two Tornado GR4s, which passed within 50ft of each other in Glen Spean, near Fort William, in June.

There were eight A-rated near-misses involving solely military aircraft across the UK in 2009 and seven in 2008.

In the latest case, the pilot of a Tornado GR4, flying at 542mph on a solo night-training flight, "encountered" another aircraft straight ahead, crossing from right to left "at very close range and at the same height" (600ft). He felt the turbulence from the other aircraft's wake, but did not see it. The board report stated: "He assessed the risk as being very high."

The pilot of the second Tornado, who was on a "night familiarisation" training flight with a colleague, flying at 518mph, said neither of them had seen the other aircraft and were informed of their "close encounter" with another Tornado only after returning to base.

The board said the incident happened at 8:44pm - one minute before the first pilot's allotted time was due to end, and two minutes before the second pilot's started. This was in contravention of Lossiemouth's "night deconfliction plan", designed to avert such incidents.

The report said: "The board noted this was a very serious occurrence, where neither crew had seen the other aircraft at the time of the event."

The board said the crew of the second Tornado were qualified but "relatively inexperienced".

It said they were "not fully familiar" with night-vision goggles and thermal imaging equipment, and their first priority would have been terrain avoidance - ie not hitting the ground.

However, the board said it had been unable to determine why the crew "had not afforded sufficient priority to the apparently sound and properly promulgated deconfliction plan".Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis, in whose Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency the incident happened, said: "Given the topography of the Borders, it is a fact of life locally that there will be low flying, but it is obviously deeply concerning, for the safety of the pilots and residents in the area, that this incident took place.

"It is clear very sharp lessons need to be learnt from this. When lives are at risk, it is of paramount importance that the facts surrounding this incident are learnt from, to ensure it is not repeated."

An MoD spokeswoman said: "Military flying, and particularly fast jet training, is inherently high-risk, but rigorous military procedures ensure these risks are reduced to the absolute minimum. The MoD encourages full and open reporting of incidents so flight safety risk is reduced to the lowest possible level."